Drug and Stolen Credit Card Ring Broken Up

(Phoenix, Ariz. – Feb. 28, 2006) A stolen credit card and drug trafficking operation was shut down today by a joint law enforcement task force that served search warrants at seven locations throughout the Valley. Ten people have been arrested. Officers seized more than 200 pounds of marijuana, a small amount of methamphetamine, more than $300,000 in cash, and a variety of other assets including bank accounts, a home and several vehicles.

Initially, Mesa Police were investigating a fraud case which involved suspects using stolen credit cards to purchase gift cards and then selling the cards for cash. The investigation led Mesa Police and Arizona Department of Public Safety officers to several homes and commercial properties where they discovered drug paraphernalia as well as stolen credit cards and gift cards.

The search warrants were served on five residential and two commercial properties in Mesa, Chandler, Tempe and Phoenix. Those arrested today include:

Rodney Bagby, 37, of Phoenix

Tina Dickinson, 38, of Mesa

Alicia Moss, 22, of Chandler

Jeanine Urbano, 28, of Tempe

Diana Perez, 39, of Buckeye

Jayme Aragon, 20, of Phoenix

Shannon Palffy, 35, of Tempe

Angel Nunez, 38, of Phoenix

Clint Saunder, 36, of Phoenix

Ray Lopez, 47, of Phoenix

The task force serving search warrants today included officers from the Mesa Police Department, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service. More arrests are expected.

Assistant Attorneys General Jane McLaughlin and Todd Lawson are prosecuting this case.